"Nice catch, Boo," she told Kristoff with a kiss as he held her in his arms. He smiled and looked like he wanted to kiss her with much more thoroughness, but obviously realized in time that the back alley of the hotel, with the premier prince of Abaddon on their heels, was not the ideal place for romance.
"What two men?" Diamond asked, brushing off her legs. "Dratted hotel. Don't they dust their drainpipes?"
"Why would they mention Cora and Sally, unless . . . bloody hell." Alec stopped talking and started running, fear snatching at his breath as he ran.
"Where is he going?" he heard Diamond call. "Ow! I can't run in these shoes! Hey, you don't have to shove me!"
"They have Cora," Kristoff growled, obviously trying to hurry the women. Alec didn't wait for them to catch up to him; he shot out of the alley. Down the street a few blocks, a black sedan pulled out and sped off into the night. Alec swore under his breath, spinning around to head for the car park next to the hotel. Kristoff and the two women emerged from the alley as he passed. He didn't pause, just grabbed Diamond and slung her over his shoulder. "They're heading west, to the highway," he called as he ran, ignoring Diamond's protests that she could walk. "Be quiet, woman - you're too slow. I won't risk Cora for the sake of your shoes. Kristoff, keys?"
Alec knew it didn't take much time at all for them to reach the car and set off after the two Dark Ones, but he felt every passing second as if it were an hour. How the hell had the bastards found Cora? And why hadn't she told him they were around?
Mi querida, are you safe? he asked as he slammed on the brakes to avoid plowing down a couple who weaved into the street, obviously a bit too flushed with the fruit of the grape. He spun the wheel and drove around them, partially on the sidewalk, until he reached the highway that ran to the north out of town. He had no idea which way the two councilmen had gone, but was betting on the more populated north than the south. Corazon?
"I don't understand what's going on," Diamond complained, righting herself from where Alec had tossed her into the car. "Who has Alec seen that has him so upset? "
Cora, you will speak to me right now.
"The two men from the Moravian Council," Pia answered her.
"But . . . Alec and Kristoff are Dark Ones. Is it bad to see the members of the group that rules your people?" Diamond asked.
Beloved, this silence worries me. I need to hear from you.
"It is when they want to imprison you in the Akasha. Alec?" Kristoff, playing navigator, pointed to the right as the highway curved around a hill. "Junction with another highway coming up. They could be taking that and we wouldn't know."
Alec swore. "Sins of the saints, why doesn't she talk to me?"
"She's not answering?"
"No." Alec ground off a few layers of enamel, jerking the car's steering wheel as he pulled off the road, sliding on the gravel that littered the shoulder. Ahead of them was a sign announcing the exit for the highway that ran roughly east to west. He had no idea whether the two councilmen had taken that road or the one they were on. Hell, for all he knew, they could be going in the opposite direction.
"Well, they're with Sally, aren't they?" Diamond said, giving a little shrug. "They probably went to her house."
Alec ripped off the seat belt in order to turn around and face Diamond. "Sally has a house in France? Here, in the south?"
"Yes," Diamond answered, looking startled. "In Privas, not too far from us, from what I can remember. She held a big barbecue here last summer, when she became a demon lord, and invited everyone from the Court to see her new palace. Well, the extension of her palace into the mortal world, because naturally we couldn't go into the Abaddon part. I mean, what would the Sovereign say if it found us all frolicking around Abaddon enjoying steak and cedar-planked salmon?"
Alec stared at her for the count of four. "Why would the messenger wish to go to Sally's house?"
Diamond gave a little shrug. "It's handy? If they're trying to lure you into a trap, which I assume is what you mean by the reference to banishing you to the Akasha, then that seems like the most private place to do so. Unless the Moravian Council has buildings in this area?"
"No," Kristoff answered as Alec turned around and gunned the motor, ignoring the merging traffic behind him as he drove over the shoulder and verge and onto the highway going to the east. "They don't. They must be holding Sally and Ulfur, too. Cora still not answering?"
I am coming to save you, Beloved. Do not fear for your safety; I won't let anyone hurt you. "No, she isn't." His voice was raw as he thought of Corazon being treated roughly. The messenger, he knew, wouldn't kill Cora, but she would no doubt fight him, and he might use more force than necessary to subdue her.
That thought made him grind his teeth even more, a desperate need to be with her, to protect her, riding him hard until it caused the hunger within him to awaken.
The drive to Privas was the longest event he'd ever suffered, filled with all too many horrible visions of Cora being harmed, and he swore that if the messenger or his partner so much as bent one single hair on her adorable head, he would have his vengeance.
"Is Alec growling?" Diamond asked Pia.
"Yes, yes, he is. And swearing," she answered.
"In Latin," Kristoff added. Alec shot his friend a look. Kristoff grinned, and added in Italian, "She'll be all right. They have no reason to hurt her."
"Cora is a fighter. She won't tolerate being used as bait to trap me. She'll fight them."
"She's also your Beloved now, and won't take injury like a mortal would. I know you're worried, but just remember that it's you they want, not her. She's just a means to an end."